How to create meals that will boost your child’s academic and physical health

Photograph by: Arlen Redekop
, Vancouver Sun

Two Vancouver moms, an elementary school teacher and a pediatrician were distressed. The teacher saw the lunches children eat and the pediatrician saw the results of bad eating habits.

So they got to work and wrote a book with nutritional information, lunch and snack ideas and recipes so kids could learn better at school and to help address the fact that many schoolchildren face serious health issues.

“There was a deficit in the market for parents,” says Brenda Bradshaw, the teacher. She and friend Dr. Cheryl Mutch combined their knowledge and wrote Good Food To Go: Healthy Lunches Your Kids Will Love. “We saw the lunches that kids were eating. There were a lot of processed foods. The worst were those packages with processed cheese and crackers. Cheryl was seeing the complications that arise from processed foods.”

Processed foods are generally high in salt, sugar, fat and chemical additives. Add the gallons of sugary beverages and fast food meals and the statistics for overweight and obese children say it all. In Canada, it’s tripled in the last 25 years and 26 per cent of children between two and 17 are overweight or obese. That invites complications such as Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, liver disease, bone and joint problems, respiratory problems, sleep disorders, fatigue and psychological issues.

When Bradshaw was teaching, the evidence was in her classroom.

“When I was a child, there were very few chubby kids. Now it’s absolutely noticeable. About a quarter of my classes were overweight. High cholesterol wasn’t seen in children 50 years ago,” she says.

“The psychological implications are huge. Children get alienated from sports, get bullied, or more likely, are predators of bullying. It’s tough to go through school that way.”

Lunches are critical to their health and well-being; about a third of their daily calories are in their lunches.

As well, fat cells produce estrogen and can affect the early onset of puberty for overweight girls and do the opposite for boys, delaying puberty. Academically, children who eat healthy foods have more energy, can focus longer and learn better.

The authors’ message is loud and clear: limit highly processed and packaged foods and opt instead for whole foods with fibre, like grains, beans, lentils, fruits, vegetables and lean proteins like fish and skinless chicken breast.

The authors neutralize the myth that sugar causes hyperactivity. “In fact, it has the opposite effect, releasing serotonin, which has a calming effect and helps us sleep.” But, they say, many of the sugary foods are also high in chemical additives that might contribute to hyperactivity in sensitive children.

As the processed food industry knows very well, packaging is paramount in convincing kids that a food is yummy. The authors suggest a bento-style lunch box with a divided interior for a variety of foods.

“Young children with small appetites are easily overwhelmed by large portions,” says Bradshaw. Look for BPA-free containers and ones that can hold a small ice pack. A wide-mouth Thermos container is good to have on hand too, especially for soups and supper leftovers.

Joanna Schultz, of Pikanik in South Surrey, provides daily lunches (all gluten and nut-free) to children at Smilestones Junior Kindergarten in South Surrey, and previously had contracts with some elementary school hot lunch programs. Her lunches include a rainbow of at least six colours and varying textures and shapes on a plate for children.

“It’s the magic number and it’s from a published study from Cornell University,” she says. “There’s something about having six colours or more on a plate. It motivates kids to eat and try different things. There are different sensations, it’s fun and there are bits of lots of different things,” she says. The Cornell study found that adults, on the other hand, prefer three items and three colours and all too often, parents plate food according to their own perceptions.

And don’t forget the fun. Kids love skewered things, she says. And, says Bradshaw, dips! She makes batches of tzatziki, hummus or bean dips, and sometimes, just plain old yogurt is dippable.

Shultz, mother of a three- and six-year-old, packs lunches in stainless steel bento boxes from Planet Box. “It’s not cheap but it’s amazing. There are compartments and things stay in place. There’s a lidded section for yogurt that snaps shut and it’s insulated with an ice pack. You can get cool magnets with positive messages to stick on them, too,” she says.

She says parents should continue feeding kids the foods they reject at least three more times. One ‘no’ is not a forever thing. Bradshaw feels parents with less time than ever are catering too much to children’s likes and dislikes.

“Parents have become short-order cooks, an exhausting process, so they start relying on processed foods or eat out too much. The parents’ job is to decide what’s presented and how and the children decide what they’re going to eat and how much. If my daughter says she’s hungry later, she can have a glass of milk but I’m not going to create a whole new meal.”

“Make extra,” is Bradshaw’s suppertime mantra. “And I don’t bake 24 cookies. I make 84. A freezer is key. Soups, spaghetti sauces, I make in bulk.”

Involving the kids in making their lunches is like a buy-in and it’s backed by studies. “Explain the food groups and brainstorm what they like from each. Take them to the grocery store, talk about how different foods help them,” says Bradshaw. According to research, new foods should be introduced to kids when they’re with family and friends.

“My daughter didn’t try sushi until she went out with a buddy. Then she liked it. The school lunch room isn’t the best place to introduce new foods,” she says.

Ceri Marsh and Laura Keogh, Toronto authors of the just-released book, How to Feed a Family cookbook, attest to the power of involving children in planning and cooking meals.

“We may daydream about a garden where we grow all our own produce but the reality is that we’re urban parents. So, we take the kids to the local farmers’ market and get them planting basil on the deck,” say the former fashion journalists-turned-cookbook authors and bloggers (Sweet Potato Chronicles). “Even more important is that we get the kids cooking with us once the food comes home. We know, we know — the mess. But the investment you make in time and mess will pay dividends when you see your kid full of pride, tucking into a healthy and delicious dish they helped prepare.”

And if you’re cooking and eating at home, it’s half the nutrition battle, they say in their book introduction. “Committing to making most of the food your family eats is, in our opinion, the biggest step you can take toward overall health.”

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